HERCULESES

HERCULES

Her"cu*les, n.

1. (Gr. Myth.)

Definition: A hero, fabled to have been the son of Jupiter and Alcmena, and celebrated for great strength, esp. for the accomplishment of his twelve great tasks or "labors."

2. (Astron.)

Definition: A constellation in the northern hemisphere, near Lyra. Hercules' beetle (Zoöl.), any species of Dynastes, an American genus of very large lamellicorn beetles, esp. D. hercules of South America, which grows to a length of six inches.

– Hercules' club. (Bot.) (a) An ornamental tree of the West Indies (Zanthoxylum Clava-Herculis), of the same genus with the prickly ash. (b) A variety of the common gourd (Lagenaria vulgaris). Its fruit sometimes exceeds five feet in length. (c) The Angelica tree. See under Angelica.

– Hercules powder, an explosive containing nitroglycerin; -- used for blasting.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



RESET




Word of the Day

18 May 2025

OBLIQUE

(adjective) slanting or inclined in direction or course or position--neither parallel nor perpendicular nor right-angled; “the oblique rays of the winter sun”; “acute and obtuse angles are oblique angles”; “the axis of an oblique cone is not perpendicular to its base”


coffee icon

Coffee Trivia

The expression “coffee break” was first attested in 1952 in glossy magazine advertisements by the Pan-American Coffee Bureau.

coffee icon